FDA Bans Sales of HCG-Placenta-Based Weight Loss Remedy
According to a survey of diet products conducted by the Federal Trade Commission several years ago, almost five million Americans are victimized by weight-loss fraud annually.In early December, Federal regulators ordered several companies to stop selling an unproven weight loss remedy that uses protein from the human placenta. The FDA issued warning letters to seven companies that sell the protein as drops, pellets or sprays. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is produced by the placenta and found in the urine of pregnant women. While it is approved for certain infertility treatments,